Reader feedback in text design. Validity of the plus-minus method for the pretesting of public information brochures.

Menno de JONG

ISBN 10: 9042004215 / ISBN 13: 9789042004214

Published by Rodopi Bv Editions, 1998

About this Item

160 pages. 8.60x5.80x0.60 inches. In Stock. This item is printed on demand.

Seller Inventory # __9042004215

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Reader feedback in text design. Validity of the plus-minus method for the pretesting of public information brochures.
• Publisher: Rodopi Bv Editions
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9042004215
• ISBN 13: 9789042004214
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.3 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

Brochures play a significant role in governmental public information provision. Every year many brochures are distributed to inform, instruct or persuade people. These brochures may benefit from a systematic design process, including applied research such as pretesting. Among communication professionals, the importance of pretesting is practically undisputed. Readers from the target audience are assumed to provide valuable insights into whether a document really works. Organizations therefore increasingly try to include a pretest in the design process of important documents. Various pretest methods have been developed and are being used in practice. However, little is known yet about the merits and restrictions of the available approaches. This book provides a framework for scholarly research into pretesting, and presents a series of studies into the validity of one particular pretest instrument: a combination of the plus-minus method and a semi-structured questionnaire. This is one of the prevailing pretest approaches in the Dutch public information sector. The validity of the pretest instrument is assessed in two complementary ways. First, the question is addressed as to whether a revision on the basis of pretest results actually leads to an improvement in the functional quality of brochures. Second, a study is presented in which text and subject-matter experts judge the importance of pretest results. The pretest instrument appears to yield a large amount and a great variety of reader feedback, which in a subsequent revision may contribute to significant improvements in the effectiveness of brochures.

Review

"... a well-written monograph that researchers and graduate students conducting document design research should add to their personal libraries." in: Technical Communication, Vol. 47, No. 2, May 2000